Protesters call for better pay and working conditions at a demonstration Oct. 7 in Rio. / Mario Tama, Getty Images

by Jill Langlois, Special for USA TODAY

by Jill Langlois, Special for USA TODAY

SAO PAULO - Thousands of protesters marched in Brazil on Tuesday, demanding free university education, respect for teachers' rights and better quality education for those in state-run schools.

About 2,000 took to the streets of São Paulo at nightfall, waving flags and banners calling for the removal of Gov. Geraldo Alckmin. A handful of what appeared to be members of Black Bloc organizations broke glass, surrounded local businesses and invaded and destroyed a large department store.

Hundreds of police officers fought back against Molotov cocktails and other forms of violence with tear gas bombs and pepper spray that filled the air.

The "vem pra rua" chant ubiquitous to the protests that swept Brazil in June and July, along with the new, "I pay, but I shouldn't, education is not a commodity," could be heard before the violence started.

"I'm fed up with corrupt politicians. I could write a book about all the things they've done," said Lucia Dores, 50, a teacher who was near the department store when protesters pushed their way inside.

"The police were throwing tear gas bombs for no reason. They just didn't want people to keep moving forward," Dores said. "We had nowhere to run, nowhere to go. That's why people went inside Tok & Stok. Someone saved me by giving me vinegar to get rid of the tear gas effects and then I ran out of there."

Protests in other cities - including Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and Belo Horizonte - also turned violent following vandalism of local businesses, city buses and the U.S. Consulate in Rio. Those cities also saw several arrested. In Rio, police said about 4,000 demonstrators gathered.

Brazil has been beset by strikes and protests since June when small marches against a subway and bus fare hike in Sao Paulo turned into a nationwide movement against government spending priorities and benefits. Some have marched against alleged lavish spending on facilities for the 2014 soccer World Cup to be held in Brazil.

The teachers want a 37% pay increase and some protesters want an end to "automatic approval" in state schools, which does not allow students to fail and can push them through to the next school year without merit.

"My school is abandoned, the principal does nothing and doesn't want to do anything," student Karoline Santana stated on an event page set up on Facebook.

"Teachers have even lost faith, and those who arrive full of hope see quickly that the joy of teaching doesn't exist anymore. Even the older teachers demotivate the new ones," she said.

On Oct. 7 protesters took to the streets in support of Rio de Janeiro's municipal and state system teachers, who have been on strike since August. Violence has continued to take over protests in Brazil, particularly in Sao Paulo and Rio, where members of Black Bloc organizations have been blamed for streaks of vandalism that lead to a violent police response that harmed peaceful protesters as well.

In June, a group of about 2,000 protesters known as the Movimento Passe Livre took to the streets to demand free public transportation in Sao Paulo. The peaceful protest quickly turned violent when police fired rubber bullets and used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Some were left seriously injured.

The police handling of the demonstration prompted more than 1 million people to protest across Brazil in subsequent nights. Sao Paulo's demonstrations peaked at 65,000 people in June, but steady protests continued across the country into July.